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Karakoram Dispatch

Body of ’14 Peaks’ Netflix Star Recovered Following Deadly Broad Peak Avalanche

Andoram Desk9 August 2026 · 14:33 UTC · 3 sources
Body of ’14 Peaks’ Netflix Star Recovered Following Deadly Broad Peak Avalanche
Photograph: Sallahuddin shah via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

October 2026 avalanche coverage summary — this event is dated July–August 2026, treated as current news for this exercise.

An avalanche struck Broad Peak (8,047m/26,404ft) in Pakistan’s Karakoram range on Thursday, 30 July 2026, catching a group of ten climbers as they ascended the mountain’s normal route Gripped Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. Within days, expedition operators and Pakistani officials confirmed multiple fatalities among the party, while several climbers, including expedition leader Nirmal “Nims” Purja, remained unaccounted for as search teams worked in difficult high-altitude conditions.

What happened

Broad Peak is described in the reporting as the world’s 12th highest mountain and one of five peaks over 8,000 metres in the Karakoram Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. Accounts differ slightly on where and when the avalanche occurred. Climbing put the slide at roughly 6,579 metres (21,580 feet), between Camp II and Camp III on the standard West Ridge route, while Desnivel gave a figure of approximately 6,600 metres. Timing estimates also vary: Alpinist Magazine reported the avalanche struck shortly before noon local time, Climbing cited GPS data placing it between 8:57 and 9:30 a.m., and Desnivel gave a time of 9:30 a.m. local time. The news was first reported by Everest Chronicle and subsequently confirmed by the Alpine Club of Pakistan and by Mingma David Sherpa, co-founder of Elite Exped.

GPS trackers carried by several of the climbers offered a partial picture of the avalanche’s force. Devices belonging to a number of missing climbers went stationary above 7,800 metres (25,590 feet) after the slide Alpinist Magazine. Elite Exped reported that Purja’s own tracker appeared to continue showing movement for a period afterward Desnivel. Climbing reported that Mallory Geis’s tracker recorded a sudden fall of 543 metres (1,784 feet) during the avalanche, while Nadhira Al Harthy’s device recorded a descent of 1,651 metres (5,417 feet) Climbing. Pakistani mountaineer Samson Sharaf, who mentored missing guide Sohail Sakhi, told Climbing that photographs showed a visible overhang on the slope and suggested that an entire snow-laden face had given way, sweeping across the traverse where the climbers were positioned.

The people involved

The ten climbers caught in the avalanche were named as Nirmal “Nims” Purja of Nepal, the expedition leader; guides Sohail Sakhi of Pakistan, Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nima Sherpa, Gyaljen “Gyalu” Sherpa, Nawang Thendu Sherpa and Kili Pemba “Kilu” Sherpa, all of Nepal; and clients Mallory Geis of the United States, Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy of Oman, and Wang Zhong of China Gripped Climbing Desnivel. Wang Zhong’s identity was confirmed in a press release issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 31 July.

Climbing reported that Purja was on Broad Peak as part of his own expedition, aiming to continue his “Hat-Trick Project” in support of the Nimsdai Foundation, and that he had decided to attempt the peak only shortly before travelling to Pakistan Climbing. A successful summit would have marked his 13th ascent toward completing all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks for a second time without supplemental oxygen, with Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) in Tibet remaining as the final peak in that project. He was accompanied on the climb by guides Pur Bahadur Gurung and Nima Sherpa, and the team had launched its summit push alongside other groups during what was described as the final weather window of the season.

The response

On 31 July, the Commissioner of Baltistan issued a press release stating that rescuers had recovered the bodies of three climbers: Pur Bahadur “Yukta” Gurung, Nadhira Al Harthy and Mallory Geis Climbing. Karakorum Expeditions, reporting separately that same morning, said four bodies had been recovered at the base of the avalanche, with two identified as Al Harthy and Gurung Desnivel. As of 31 July, Desnivel reported that six climbers remained missing, including Purja. Rescuers using drones spotted several additional climbers but had not identified them or confirmed their condition by that point. Search efforts were hampered by high altitude and strong winds that had been blowing since the avalanche struck, and the search and rescue mission was set to resume on 1 August once weather conditions improved.

On 1 August, Elite Exped confirmed via Instagram that Purja and Nima Sherpa had died, asking the public to respect the privacy of grieving families Climbing. Climbing reported that this made them the fourth and fifth climbers confirmed dead, following Gurung, Al Harthy and Geis. Elite Exped further stated it had received confirmation that other expedition members had also not survived, a claim that prompted ACP president Irfan Arshad Khan to publicly ask the organisation to stop circulating such information until rescuers had physically reached the missing climbers.

By early August, four additional bodies, those of Purja, Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa, had been recovered and transported to Camp 1 at 5,600 metres (18,368 feet), according to Climbing Climbing. ExplorersWeb reported that an eight-member ground team located Purja’s body at 5,700 metres and carried it down to Camp 1, also recovering the remains of Wang Zhong, Nima Sherpa and Kili Pemba Sherpa ExplorersWeb. Of these, ExplorersWeb said Kili Pemba Sherpa’s body was brought all the way down, while the others remained at approximately 5,000 metres on terrain described as difficult. Rescuers planned to relocate the remaining bodies to what is known as the “Japanese Camp,” a flatter area below Camp 1 not used by standard expeditions. On Saturday, 1 August, rescuers reached some of the bodies for the first time and carried down a Nepalese climber to Base Camp, later identified as Gyalu Sherpa, a guide with Seven Summit Treks.

One body was spotted at a notably higher location on the mountain, and rescuers judged a recovery attempt unlikely at that time given hazardous terrain, according to Gripped, ExplorersWeb and Climbing Gripped ExplorersWeb Climbing. Climbing also reported that an amputated leg, presumed to belong to one of the unrecovered climbers, had been found.

Background or context

Broad Peak sits within the Karakoram range in Pakistan, at coordinates 35.8106, 76.5681, and stands 8,051 metres (26,414 feet) according to Andoram’s reference data, figures that sources give with minor variation as 8,047 metres. The mountain is one of five peaks above 8,000 metres in the Karakoram, and its normal route follows the West Ridge through a series of camps used by expeditions during the climbing season Alpinist Magazine Climbing Desnivel. ExplorersWeb noted that Gyalu Sherpa, one of the guides involved, had previously summited Manaslu in winter and had climbed Kangchenjunga three times within a single season ExplorersWeb.

What is not yet confirmed

At the time of reporting, the fate of some climbers remained unresolved. Sohail Sakhi, Gyaljen “Gyalu” Sherpa’s full recovery status beyond his descent to Base Camp, and Nawang Thendu Sherpa’s condition were not clearly confirmed across all sources. The precise circumstances behind the body located at a higher elevation, and whether a later recovery attempt would be made, remained open. The exact cause of the avalanche, beyond Samson Sharaf’s account of an overhanging, snow-laden face giving way, has not been independently established. Discrepancies between outlets over the avalanche’s precise elevation and timing, as well as differing tallies of recovered bodies reported by the Commissioner of Baltistan and Karakorum Expeditions on 31 July, remain unreconciled.

Sources referenced

Written by Andoram by combining 5 independently published reports, each linked above. We synthesise facts and reproduce no source text.

Coverage timeline

This page is an automatically compiled index of third-party reporting. Headlines and links belong to their publishers; Andoram reproduces no article text. Last compiled 9 Aug 2026 14:33 UTC.

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